To counter the impact of the international financial crisis, accelerate the cultivation of emerging industries, and seize the high ground in future economic competition, the National Development and Reform Commission is expediting the formulation of the Energy Conservation and Environmental Protection Industry Development Plan and the Opinions on the Development of the Semiconductor Lighting Energy Conservation Industry.
The energy conservation and environmental protection industry encompasses energy efficiency, resource recycling, and environmental protection, covering technologies, equipment, products, and services related to these fields. The NDRC has now commenced soliciting opinions from relevant departments on the aforementioned plans. Vice Chairman Xie Zhenhua recently stated that over the next five years, China’s environmental protection industry could require investment of up to 450 billion yuan, presenting unprecedented development opportunities for emerging sectors such as energy conservation and environmental protection.
Data indicates that in 2008, the total output value of China’s energy conservation and environmental protection industry reached 1.41 trillion yuan, accounting for 4.7% of that year’s GDP. Xie Zhenhua noted that within China’s ongoing 4 trillion yuan economic stimulus package, 210 billion yuan is allocated to energy conservation, emission reduction, developing a circular economy, and ecological environment construction. A series of industrial adjustment and revitalisation plans also identify developing a circular economy as a key measure for industrial upgrading and structural adjustment. (Electricity and Information)
State Council: Steady Advancement of Water, Refined Oil and Electricity Price Reforms
The Second Plenary Session of the Tenth National People’s Congress Standing Committee convened on the afternoon of 25 August 2009 to hear the State Council’s report on the implementation of this year’s national economic and social development plan.
Zhang Ping, Director of the National Development and Reform Commission, stated in the report that reforms in key sectors and critical areas would be deepened in the second half of the year. Seizing the favourable momentum of the domestic economy stabilising and improving, efforts would be accelerated to implement the State Council’s arrangements for deepening reforms this year. Policy measures to further adjust the distribution pattern of national income and increase the proportion of residents’ income in national income would be urgently studied. Reforms to the pricing mechanism for resource-based products would be actively pursued. The implementation of key near-term plans for medical and health system reform would be conscientiously carried out. Reforms in monopolistic sectors such as municipal public utilities should continue to be deepened. The fiscal transfer payment system should be improved, and measures for the provincial-level direct management of county finances should be expedited. The coordination mechanism for financial supervision and the systemic financial risk assessment system should be enhanced, while the internal control mechanisms and performance appraisal systems of commercial banks should be refined. (Xinhua News Agency)